Guard shoots dead child for picking stray kite in Faisalabad

FAISALABAD: A security guard on Monday shot dead a child who was picking a stray kite from a shopping mall, ARY News reported.

Twelve-year-old Saqlain was a student of grade four and the only son of a rickshaw driver. The child was chasing a stray kite when he entered the premises of a shopping mall located on Sargodha Road, where the security guard shot him dead.

Saqlain’s cousin Haseeb said the guard intentionally shot him after a brief quarrel. The bullet hit the chest of the child.” We asked him (the guard) to allow us pick the kite, but he asked why had they come over there,” said Haseeb who was present with Saqlain.

“He took out his pistol and deliberately shot Saqlain. The bullet struck Saqlain’s chest. Then the guard immediately ran away,” he said questioning what was the fault of his young cousin.

Saqlain was shifted to Allied Hospital where he succumbed to his injuries. The child’s family were grief stricken over the incident. A large number of residents and the child’s family members protested outside their residence in Shadman Town over the incident.

The deceased child’s grandmother appeared inconsolable over the tragic incident and appealed to Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif to come to Faisalabad and give exemplary punishment to the culprit.

Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif has taken notice of the incident, and demanded a report from the Regional Police Officer Faisalabad Bilal Siddiqui over the incident.

The security guard named Mumtaz managed to flee from the incident and even left his gun. However, police claimed that he has been arrested and had confessed to his crime during initial interrogation.